Monday, March 28, 2011

Angry? Nope. Smug, maybe.

Facebook is crazy. It brings out skeletons from days past that one would never have had to deal with years ago. Without social networking sites, it would be a feat of epic stalking to find out what your exes are up to, what their spouse looks like, and if your wish for their kids to turn out looking like monkeys actually came true. Now it's all too easy to know. I'm nosy for sure and have no problem admitting that I've looked at some people's profile with great interest and amusement. Hey, it's not my fault that they didn't set their pictures on a private setting.

What I cannot wrap my brain around is the notion that just because you knew someone twenty years ago, they want to hear from you today. I've never been the most popular gal on the block, my school days were rough and I have kept in touch with almost no one from my teenage days. I moved into the city and kept no ties with my hometown acquaintances, it wasn't hard to do and it made me realize that I've no problem letting go of people that hold no value in my life, I do that well. Building a brand new life with people of my choosing was a beautiful thing, in many ways I feel as if my real life didn't even start until I closed the door on that era. Enter Facebook, where I quickly was bombarded with friend requests from high school people. That in and of itself is not a total shocker, what was insane to me was the fact that most of these people didn't even pretend to like me back then, but now act as if this is a reunion to go down in the history books. Really? Wow.

I've got a small number of school chums on my page, which I keep totally private and only allow certain folks access to. Those few I have fond memories of for one reason or another, and I legitimately appreciate the people they seem to have grown into being. Most of the time, though, I tend to get a request, shoot over to their page to giggle up a storm and then hit ignore. I don't forget anything, people who were not very nice to me years ago won't get much from me today. I just find it satisfying to see that what so many people told me when I was a miserable kid is actually true. You never want to peak at seventeen and then have it all be downhill from there. It's easy to let go of anger about things when you see that life has payed them back better than you could have ever dreamed. Yep, that's me being just a tad smug.

I know I flaked on the song challenge yesterday, but I was pissed off. The mood should have coincided with today, where I'm supposed to play a song that I listen to when I'm angry. Erm, ok. Since I'm on a roll about school days, let's bust out a dated gem. This is an anger anthem, after all…. blasted from every tape deck in the driveway of every metalhead party ever attended back in the day. And why not? It's a damn catchy song, even when you aren't furious over anything, which is pretty much me so far today.

p.s. I actually am slightly peeved about this site acting up. It hasn't recorded any page views or stats since Saturday, so either no one is reading this at all suddenly or something is screwy. This happen to anyone else? Not sure how to report or fix it.

7 comments:

Hey! Just happened to chance by your blog since you posted a question to Google regarding the stats issue just after I did. Just wanted to tell you that you seem to be a person to my tastes. A "run of the mill reluctantly domesticated bohemian"... haha I'll remember that :). Enjoyed reading your blog.

I've been ruminating the exact same thing regarding past acquaintances. I thrill at seeing them fat and bald and looking more like my parents now, as opposed to former classmates, whilst I, of course, am still looking fantastic.

I have a character in my 3rd novella I am currently working on who had to go through school with a deformed leg, who suffered cruelty from his peers all through his school years.

Yes, I'm awfully grateful now that I didn't get better looking until I was older, but truth of the matter is that many of these people don't suffer from bad genes, they've gone and let themselves go completely. Too bad for them.

I like your character already. Now that you've defeated the odds and survived surgery earlier today, you should go to the reunion.

And regarding your post... I, too, built a new life after the age of 19 (and, honestly, a couple of new lives at different points after that), and have no desire to reconnect with people I've long since and very consciously left behind. However, I always click accept on those annoying "friend" requests. It gives me a chance to peek into their lives for a while, which most times confirms that they indeed became just what I thought they'd become (most often an older and uglier version of their youthful and not so pleasant self - though a couple have actually surprised me). Every now and then I go through my friends list and remove those that don't belong, which always gives me a slight but very satisfying feeling of catharsis.

I may be the only person alive that does not have a facebook page. I really don't have an interest in it, and I totally understand where you are coming from on this. This was a delightfully funny and awesome post.